This section provides background information related to the present disclosure which is not necessarily prior art.
A hose or a duct may be used as a conduit to conduct liquids or gases between various components, for example, in automotive, truck or industrial applications. It is well known to use a hose clamp over an outer circumference of a hose or duct to compress the hose and seal to a connection port of another device.
To properly secure the hose or duct onto a connection port or fitting, the hose clamp is installed at a roughly judged longitudinal distance from the end of hose or duct, with the hope that this distance aligns the clamp with a sealing surface of a fitting on which the hose is attached. The clamp then compresses the hose or duct against the sealing surface on the connection port or fitting. However, enforcing this hose clamp alignment is difficult and error prone if done manually, possibly resulting in a compromised seal between the hose or duct and the connection port or fitting and/or a compromised mechanical connection.
Another problem arises in that the clamp may tend of rotate circumferentially about the hose or duct during adjustment and tightening, and in such cases, it may be impossible to adjust and tighten the clamp as contact with a tool may cause the clamp to rotate on the hose or duct or move away from the tool. Also, when an automated or robotic installation of the hose or duct is intended, or in applications where the clamp is accessible for adjustment only in certain radial orientations, the clamp may move out of position longitudinally along the duct or rotate circumferentially on the duct out of radial orientation, missing the sweet spot alignment to the sealing surface and thereby foiling attempts to achieved a fluid tight and mechanically fast connection.
In the art it is known to provide clamps having positioning members which extend axially and then bend over the connection end of a hose or duct to limit the axial movement on the clamp on the hose or duct. Such clamps may be equipped with a flat portion that extends on the outside of the hose in a longitudinal direction of the hose to an end of the hose. The flat portion extends over an axial end of the hose, thereby limiting longitudinal movement of the clamp away from the end of the hose. Such positioning members may permit the clamp to be positioned nearer to the connecting end of the hose or duct than is preferred, resulting in a misalignment with respect to the sealing surface of the connection port or fitting, or possibly allowing the clamp to slide off the hose at the connection end.
In other known art, U.S. Pat. No. 7,896,400 B2 teaches a flat positioning portion extending to bend over the end of the hose. In some embodiments, the positioning portion then embeds into the material of the hose at the connection end of the hose. In other embodiments, the positioning portion is bent again to lie against the radially interior surface of the hose. In some cases, a crimp tab is provided on the positioning portion which embeds into the inner surface to position the clamp on the hose. Such positioning members may permit the clamp to be positioned nearer to the end of the hose or duct than is preferred, resulting in a misalignment with respect to the sealing surface of the connection port or fitting.
A problem has been observed with clamps having a flat positioning portion that extends over the end of the hose and bends to lie against the interior of the hose. In such cases, the positioning portion or the crimp tabs may scratch the inner surface of the hose or duct or scratch the outer surface of the connection port or fitting, resulting in a localized surface damage that is difficult to seal or prone to leaks.
Problems may arise in prior art clamps in that the clamp, in some configurations, is not uniquely fixed into a rotational position on the hose or duct and may be rotated arbitrarily about the hose or duct when installed onto the hose or duct. In these cases, an enforced radial alignment of hose clamp on the hose or duct is not provided, allowing the clamp to rotate out of position where it cannot be reached and tightened.
Another problem may arise from prior art clamp positioning members which include crimp tabs. The crimp tabs embed into the wall of the hose or duct and thereby may completely puncture the wall or weaken the wall of the hose or duct, compromising the hose or duct by forming a source of mechanical hose or duct wall failure and leaks.
Yet another problem is observed that needs resolution. With clamps having a positioning portion that extends over the hose end and into the interior of the hose to engage against the inner wall or embed into the end of the hose, in this case, when the hose is not installed on the connection portion, the stiffness of the clamp tends to distort the shape of the hose, for example, changing the shape of an end of the hose from a circle to an oval so the shape is no longer matched to the shape of the connection port onto which the hose or duct is to mount. This is particularly problematic with automated or robotic installations, but also for manual installations. The hose or duct, when so deformed in shape, may not be readily received over the connection port or fitting, or may not fit at all, resulting in extra manual work and wasteful time lost in assembling the connection.
In other cases, it is desired to locate the clamp at or within a very short distance from the end of the hose or duct. In such cases, it is problematic as the clamp may freely move off the connection end of the hose or duct during assembly, resulting in a connection failure.